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Notes
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Introduction
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Bible Reading 12/13 - 12/26: Dan 6:1 - Hos 3:5; 2Pet 3:1 - 1John 5:21; Psalm 119:129 - 124:8; Proverbs 28:21 - 29:8
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Review
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God Is Love (Part 1)
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Preparation - Genesis 1:26 - 2:3
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Expository Preaching
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Select the Passage - Genesis 1:26 - 2:3
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Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground — everything that has the breath of life in it — I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning — the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
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Study the Passage
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NIV
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Hebrew Study Bible
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KJV
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The Message
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NASB
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RSV
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Discover the Exegetical Idea
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God created us in order to love and bless us.
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Analyze the Exegetical Idea
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Explain It: What does this mean?
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Love is the determination to benefit others at your own expense.
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Bless ("barakh" in Hebrew) implies benefit, prosperity, wellbeing.
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Prove It: Is it True? Do I believe it?
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God is perfect and self-sufficient.
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God exists in perfect eternal relationship: Father, Son , Holy Spirit.
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God doesn't need us to do anything for him.
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The only purpose we can serve for God is as someone to bless.
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Apply It: What difference does it make? So What?
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The way you view God will determine how you relate to him.
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The way you view God will affect his ability to bless you.
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Formulate the Homiletical Idea
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God is love and love demands expression.
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Determine the Sermon's Purpose (what listeners should do):
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Understand that God created you to love you.
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Expect God to be involved in your life.
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Allow God to give himself to you.
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Decide to be a channel of God's blessing to others.
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Decide How to Accomplish This Purpose
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Outline the Sermon
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Standing Issues
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From a word Bishop gave me:
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Make sure people do something with God's message.
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Make it plain:
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Use accessible language.
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Use modern day parables based on every day occurrences:
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Sitting at a stop light
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Driving through a green light
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Approaching a yellow light
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Being cut off in traffic
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Going shopping
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Going to a mall
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Going to school; sitting in class
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Going to work; sitting in your office;
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Keep it simple.
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Use illustrations of truth out of my own experience.
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Impart faith to obey the Word and receive God's promises.
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Introduction
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We had another party for God this morning! Were you there?
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Did God enjoy your contribution to our worship today?
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There is no substitute for your individual experience with God!
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There is no substitute for your corporate experience with God!
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Would you turn down an invitation to a party for your parents?
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God is your Father - don't miss his party!
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We are called to worship together!
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Acts 2:42-47
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Hebrews 13:15
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1Peter 2:4-10
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My experience as BSU Co-Chair 1977 - 1979
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Office equipment from Procurement Department Director
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Computer equipment from IPS Director
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Bulletin board space from Association of Student Activities
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Resources that my peers considered hostile or indifferent were actually willing to help us.
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Many people treat God as if he's hostile or indifferent.
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Transition - What does the Bible say?
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God begins creating - Genesis 1:1-5
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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning — the first day.
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A perfect self-sufficient God goes to the trouble of creating . . .
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Read the Passage - Genesis 1:26 - 2:3
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Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground — everything that has the breath of life in it — I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning — the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
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Homiletical Idea
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God is love and love demands expression.
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Exegetical Idea
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God created us in order to love and bless us.
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What does this mean?
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Love is the determination to benefit others at your own expense.
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Bless ("barakh" in Hebrew) implies benefit, prosperity, wellbeing.
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Is it True? Do I believe it?
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God is perfect and self-sufficient.
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God exists in perfect eternal relationship: Father, Son , Holy Spirit.
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God doesn't need us to do anything for him.
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The only purpose we can serve for God is as someone to bless.
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What difference does it make? So What?
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The way you view God will determine how you relate to him.
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Just like my view of various MIT officials as a student leader.
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The way you view God will affect his ability to bless you.
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Take these steps:
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Believe that God created you to love you.
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Expect God to be passionately interested in your life.
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Allow God to give himself to you.
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Decide to be a channel of God's blessing to others.
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Believe that God created you to love you.
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God created man personally and with provision - Genesis 2:4-17
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Expect God to be passionately interested in your life.
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Illustrations
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My family was not very invested in me having a girlfriend.
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Uncle Charlie telling Gail to "go home".
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God cares about our relational needs - Genesis 2:18-25
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Allow God to give himself to you.
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God's ultimate plan for Adam and Eve was to give them himself.
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God wanted them to realize their need for him as their relationship progressed.
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Illustration
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My tendency to gravitate towards father figures.
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Decide to be a channel of God's blessing to others.
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God's children love - 1John 4:7-19
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Conclusion
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Believe that God created you to love you.
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Begin reading and reflecting on these Bible passages.
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Start thanking God several times a day for creating and loving you.
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Expect God to be passionately interested in your life.
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Set aside time to talk to God about what's going on in your life.
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If you need help with this ask someone to help you pray.
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Allow God to give himself to you.
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Set aside some time to let God speak to you. Have a notebook and pen available "just in case" he says something you want to remember.
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Write down what comes to mind as you listen.
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If you feel unsure of what you heard, ask someone to help you.
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Decide to be a channel of God's blessing to others.
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Find someone new to be a blessing to this week.
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Get a partner to help you if necessary.
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God Is Love (Part 2)
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Preparation - Genesis 3:8-24
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Expository Preaching
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Select the Passage - Genesis 3:8-24
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Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
The man said, “The woman you put here with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
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Study the Passage
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|
NIV
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|
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|
Hebrew Study Bible
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|
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|
KJV
|
|
|
|
The Message
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|
|
|
NASB
|
|
|
|
RSV
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|
|
|
Discover the Exegetical Idea
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|
|
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|
God pursues a relationship with us despite our sins.
|
|
|
|
Analyze the Exegetical Idea
|
|
|
|
Explain It: What does this mean?
|
|
|
|
Love is the determination to benefit others at your own expense.
|
|
|
|
Bless ("barakh" in Hebrew) implies benefit, prosperity, wellbeing.
|
|
|
|
God could have responded to man's sin with indifference. Instead he demonstrates how much our sin matters to him.
|
|
|
|
God could have responded to man's sin with instant destruction. Instead he delays it.
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|
|
|
God could have responded to man's sin with complete alienation. Instead he continues to relate to man albeit differently.
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Prove It: Is it True? Do I believe it?
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|
God continues his customary visits with Adam and Eve - Gen 3:8-9
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God confronts Adam and Eve about their actions - Gen 3:10-13
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God declares the serpent's judgement - Gen 3:14-15
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God declares the woman's judgement - Gen 3:16
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God declares the man's judgement - Gen 3:17-19
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God provides Adam and Eve with clothing - Gen 3:21
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God banishes Adam and Eve from Eden - Gen 3:22-24
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Apply It: What difference does it make? So What?
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God is still reaching out to you!
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God is still going to hold you accountable.
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Expect it.
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Making excuses and shifting blame won't work with God.
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God's judgement is redemptive.
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The serpent's judgement reveals God's plan of salvation.
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Serpent - satan - Revelation 12:1-17;
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The woman will have seed (i.e. offspring).
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Her seed will crush the serpent's head and experience wounding in the process.
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The woman's judgement
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Producing the seed will hurt physically.
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Producing the seed will hurt relationally.
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The man's judgement
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The fulfillment of his destiny becomes painful.
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God cares about your vulnerability.
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God restricts our access to life.
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Eternal life = knowing Jesus - John 17:1-3
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Formulate the Homiletical Idea
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God loves us even when we blow it.
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Determine the Sermon's Purpose (what listeners should do):
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Recognize that God's love doesn't stop when they fail.
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Stop hiding from God.
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Cooperate with God's redemptive plan.
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Decide How to Accomplish This Purpose
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Outline the Sermon
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|
|
|
Standing Issues
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|
|
|
From a word Bishop gave me:
|
|
|
|
Make sure people do something with God's message.
|
|
|
|
Make it plain:
|
|
|
|
Use accessible language.
|
|
|
|
Use modern day parables based on every day occurrences:
|
|
|
|
Sitting at a stop light
|
|
|
|
Driving through a green light
|
|
|
|
Approaching a yellow light
|
|
|
|
Being cut off in traffic
|
|
|
|
Going shopping
|
|
|
|
Going to a mall
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|
|
|
Going to school; sitting in class
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|
|
Going to work; sitting in your office;
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|
|
|
Keep it simple.
|
|
|
|
Use illustrations of truth out of my own experience.
|
|
|
|
Impart faith to obey the Word and receive God's promises.
|
|
|
|
Introduction
|
|
|
|
We had another party for God this morning! Were you there?
|
|
|
|
Did God enjoy your contribution to our worship today?
|
|
|
|
There is no substitute for your individual experience with God!
|
|
|
|
There is no substitute for your corporate experience with God!
|
|
|
|
Would you turn down an invitation to a party for your parents?
|
|
|
|
God is your Father - don't miss his party!
|
|
|
|
We are called to worship together!
|
|
|
|
Acts 2:42-47
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|
|
|
Hebrews 13:15
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|
1Peter 2:4-10
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My experience in the hospital over Thanksgiving.
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Shame and guilt about my health.
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Many people think God stops loving them when they blow it.
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Transition - What does the Bible say?
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The Fall - Genesis 3:1-7
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Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
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How will God respond?
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|
Read the Passage - Genesis 3:8-24
|
|
|
|
|
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
The man said, “The woman you put here with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
|
|
|
|
Homiletical Idea
|
|
|
|
|
God loves us even when we blow it.
|
|
|
|
Exegetical Idea
|
|
|
|
|
God pursues a relationship with us despite our sins.
|
|
|
|
What does this mean?
|
|
|
|
Love is the determination to benefit others at your own expense.
|
|
|
|
Bless ("barakh" in Hebrew) implies benefit, prosperity, wellbeing.
|
|
|
|
God could have responded to man's sin with indifference. Instead he demonstrates how much our sin matters to him.
|
|
|
|
God could have responded to man's sin with instant destruction. Instead he delays it.
|
|
|
|
God could have responded to man's sin with complete alienation. Instead he continues to relate to man albeit differently.
|
|
|
|
Is it True? Do I believe it?
|
|
|
|
God continues his customary visits with Adam and Eve - Gen 3:8-9
|
|
|
|
God confronts Adam and Eve about their actions - Gen 3:10-13
|
|
|
|
God declares the serpent's judgement - Gen 3:14-15
|
|
|
|
God declares the woman's judgement - Gen 3:16
|
|
|
|
God declares the man's judgement - Gen 3:17-19
|
|
|
|
God provides Adam and Eve with clothing - Gen 3:21
|
|
|
|
God banishes Adam and Eve from Eden - Gen 3:22-24
|
|
|
|
What difference does it make? So What?
|
|
|
|
God is still reaching out to you!
|
|
|
|
God is still going to hold you accountable.
|
|
|
|
Expect it.
|
|
|
|
Making excuses and shifting blame won't work with God.
|
|
|
|
God's judgement is redemptive.
|
|
|
|
The serpent's judgement reveals God's plan of salvation.
|
|
|
|
Woman's seed, heel, serpent's head - Revelation 12:1-17;
|
|
|
|
The woman will have seed (i.e. offspring).
|
|
|
|
Her seed will crush the serpent's head and experience wounding in the process.
|
|
|
|
The woman's judgement
|
|
|
|
Producing the seed will hurt physically.
|
|
|
|
Producing the seed will hurt relationally.
|
|
|
|
The man's judgement
|
|
|
|
The fulfillment of his destiny becomes painful.
|
|
|
|
God cares about your vulnerability.
|
|
|
|
God restricts our access to life.
|
|
|
|
Eternal life = knowing Jesus - John 17:1-3
|
|
|
|
Determine the Sermon's Purpose (what listeners should do):
|
|
|
|
Recognize that God's love doesn't stop when they fail.
|
|
|
|
Stop hiding from God.
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Cooperate with God's redemptive plan.
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Let your sphere of influence know: God's not mad at them!
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Recognize that God's love doesn't stop when you fail.
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Believe that God created you to love you.
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God created man personally and with provision - Genesis 2:4-17
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God created man with the capacity for choice.
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Stop hiding from God.
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He's not trying to hurt you or get revenge on you.
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Cooperate with God's redemptive plan.
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Say "Yes!"
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Embrace the pain.
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Let your sphere of influence know: God's not mad at them!
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Conclusion
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???
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New Material
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Preparation
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Expository Preaching
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Expository preaching is the communication of a biblical concept, derived from and transmitted through a historical, grammatical, and literary study of a passage in its context, which the Holy Spirit first applies to the personality and experience of the preacher, then through the preacher, applies to the hearers.
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Select the Passage
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Study the Passage
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NIV
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Hebrew Study Bible
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KJV
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The Message
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NASB
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RSV
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Discover the Exegetical Idea
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Subject
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Tools: How, Who, What, When, Where, Why
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Complement
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Analyze the Exegetical Idea
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Explain It: What does this mean?
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Prove It: Is it True? Do I believe it?
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Apply It: What difference does it make? So What?
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Formulate the Homiletical Idea
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Determine the Purpose of the Sermon
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Decide How to Accomplish This Purpose
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Make it plain
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Use accessible language and modern parables.
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Make sure people do something with God's message.
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Keep it simple.
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Use illustrations of truth out of my own experience.
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Impart faith to obey the Word and receive God's promises.
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Outline the Sermon
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God Is Love (Part 3)
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Preparation - Matthew 2:1-12
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Expository Preaching
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Select the Passage - Matthew 2:1-12
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Study the Passage
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NIV
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Hebrew Study Bible
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KJV
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The Message
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NASB
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RSV
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Discover the Exegetical Idea
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Jesus' birth had meaning beyond his immediate culture.
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Analyze the Exegetical Idea
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Explain It: What does this mean?
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Magi (latin) <-- Magos (Greek Plural) <-- Magus (Persian) <-- Magauno (Avestan religious caste of Zoroaster)
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Magi were astrologers from Persia who followed the teachings of Zoroaster.
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The Magi came from somewhere in the east to worship Jesus.
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Prove It: Is it True? Do I believe it?
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It provoked Herod to slaughter the innocents.
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It resulted in Jesus' family becoming refugees.
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Apply It: What difference does it make? So What?
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Jesus transcends culture. He came to save the whole world.
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God allowed his infant Son to be a target. He loves us enough to identify with us in our vulnerability.
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God allowed his infant Son to be a refugee. He loves us enough to identify with us in our exile.
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God allowed his infant Son to retrace Israel's time in Egypt. He loves us enough to identify with us in our bondage.
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Formulate the Homiletical Idea
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God's love is for everyone.
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Determine the Sermon's Purpose (what listeners should do):
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Take Jesus beyond your comfortable circle.
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Take Jesus to the vulnerable and rejected.
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Take Jesus to those in bondage.
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Decide How to Accomplish This Purpose
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Outline the Sermon
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Introduction
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We had another party for God this morning! Were you there?
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Did God enjoy your contribution to our worship today?
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There is no substitute for your individual experience with God!
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There is no substitute for your corporate experience with God!
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Would you turn down an invitation to a party for your parents?
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God is your Father - don't miss his party!
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We are called to worship together!
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Acts 2:42-47
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Hebrews 13:15
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1Peter 2:4-10
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Cain and Abel - Genesis 4:1-16
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Mark of Cain
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God is looking for ways to bless you.
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You are growing
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Cain's offering vs. Abel's offering.
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Two options:
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independence from God or dependence on God.
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You are always growing on one or the other of these two directions.
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Transition - What does the Bible say?
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Read the Passage - Matthew 2:1-12
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After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
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Homiletical Idea
|
|
|
|
|
God's love is for everyone.
|
|
|
|
Exegetical Idea
|
|
|
|
|
Jesus' birth had meaning beyond his immediate culture.
|
|
|
|
Explain It: What does this mean?
|
|
|
|
Magi (latin) <-- Magos (Greek Plural) <-- Magus (Persian) <-- Magauno (Avestan religious caste of Zoroaster)
|
|
|
|
Magi were astrologers from Persia who followed the teachings of Zoroaster.
|
|
|
|
The Magi came from somewhere in the east to worship Jesus.
|
|
|
|
Prove It: Is it True? Do I believe it?
|
|
|
|
Read the rest of the story - Matthew 2:13-23
|
|
|
|
It provoked Herod to slaughter the innocents.
|
|
|
|
It resulted in Jesus' family becoming refugees.
|
|
|
|
Apply It: What difference does it make? So What?
|
|
|
|
Jesus transcends culture. He came to save the whole world.
|
|
|
|
God allowed his infant Son to be a target. He loves us enough to identify with us in our vulnerability.
|
|
|
|
God allowed his infant Son to be a refugee. He loves us enough to identify with us in our exile.
|
|
|
|
God allowed his infant Son to retrace Israel's time in Egypt. He loves us enough to identify with us in our bondage.
|
|
|
|
Determine the Sermon's Purpose (what listeners should do):
|
|
|
|
Take Jesus beyond your comfortable circle.
|
|
|
|
Take Jesus to the vulnerable, the rejected, and the enslaved.
|
|
|
|
Take Jesus beyond your comfortable circle.
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There are people outside your comfort zone who will welcome the good news.
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Eva and I watched our grandchildren and cousins enthusiastically opening their Christmas gifts. We need to take Jesus, the ultimate gift, to others. God wants to enjoy others "opening" their gift and we need to be the delivery service.
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Take Jesus to the vulnerable, the rejected, and the enslaved.
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God's comfort when you suffer is not just for you - 1Corinthians 1:1-11
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Conclusion
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???
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Altar Call / Welcome Cards / Communion
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Welcome Cards - refer to script
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Benediction - Numbers 6:24-26
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“‘“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’
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Men's Prayer
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Discussion Questions / Topics (based on the indicated scriptures)
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
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Genesis 4:1-16
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|
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|
Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
But the LORD said to him, “Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
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Discussion Questions / Topics:
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|
Cain and Abel each made offerings to God. Which one best describes the way you give to the Lord? How so?
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|
God liked Abel's offering, but not Cain's. Why? How does he feel about your offerings?
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Does any aspect of this story remind you of anything you've experienced in life? Discuss.
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|
Does God's treatment of Cain teach you anything?
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|
|
Matthew 2:1-12
|
|
|
|
|
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
|
|
|
|
Discussion Questions / Topics:
|
|
|
|
The Magi came from very far away to worship Jesus. How far outside of your comfort zone are you willing to go to tell people about him?
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|
Matthew 2:13-23
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|
|
|
|
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”
So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
|
|
|
|
Discussion Questions / Topics:
|
|
|
|
Jesus and his family are the targets of an attack and have to escape quickly. Are there any aspects of their experience that you can relate to in any way? Discuss.
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|
Do you believe that God cares about you when you're in tough situations? Why or why not?
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|
|
2Corinthians 1:1-11
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|
|
|
|
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
|
|
|
|
Discussion Questions / Topics:
|
|
|
|
In what ways have you experienced God's comfort during difficult times?
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|
In what ways have you used God's comfort to comfort others?
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|
Witnessing Activities
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|
1John 4:7-19
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
We love because he first loved us.
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Allow God to give himself to you.
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|
Take some time to let God speak to you.
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|
Write down what comes to mind as you listen.
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|
If you feel unsure of what you heard, ask someone to help you.
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|
Decide to be a channel of God's blessing to others.
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|
Is there anyone that you could be a blessing to this coming week? Tell your life group and get a partner to help you if necessary.
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|
Scriptures For 12/27/2009 Life Church Sermon
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
|
|
|
|
|
Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
But the LORD said to him, “Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
|
|
|
|
|
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
|
|
|
|
|
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”
So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
|
|
|
|
|
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
|
|
|